The decorative stuccoes described here are plaster artifacts that markedly characterized many ceilings of structures belonging to ancient architecture. Indeed, their charm had already won over the architects of ancient Rome, who enhanced their beauty with such exemplary monuments as the Basilica of Maxentius.
But what exactly are we talking about? These are the coffered ceilings also called simply coffered ceilings, which are nothing more than compartments hollowed out in a ceiling and arranged in a regular manner, usually in a checkerboard pattern.
The architects who made their mark usually preferred to use square, rectangular, or octagonal shaped coffered ceilings to decorate their domes. The more unique than rare quality of coffered tiles is the impressive visual impact they create: not only for their beauty in themselves, but for their ability to enhance their surroundings. A living room decorated with a coffered ceiling will give a different look to all the other artworks in the room, “blending” them in a way and making them fit in with each other. Therefore, in a living room or room with a “Greek art” theme, one will have the impression that even a Renaissance painting will fit perfectly into the environment.
Not to mention that the artistic value of coffered ceilings was rediscovered in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and then found wide use in neoclassical architecture, as evidenced by the ceiling of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence or that of the Pisa Cathedral. But the emblematic example that best renders the magic unleashed by coffered ceilings is the Pantheon.
It is thought that it was not the direct intention of the architect to make a ceiling in this manner, but was a necessity dictated by the need to lighten the dome. The final effect, however, was something egregious, and it was perhaps from there that the great evolution of coffered houses began, an evolution of which our firm has the spearheads, so that you can recreate some of that magic of ancient history in your home as well.